Saved from the Gallows
by Hotel-Japanifornia
Summary: On December 26th, 2016, Edgeworth's life is saved by the most unexpected party.


On the morning of December 26, 2016, Edgeworth sat down quietly in the defendant's chair. Though he secretly appreciated how the rookie lawyer and his old friend, Phoenix Wright, was determined to defend him, Edgeworth knew he didn't stand a chance this time. No defense attorney could after all as the prosecutor for this case was Von Karma who had never lost a case in his forty years prosecuting. Edgeworth sighed in resignation as he saw his old mentor walk up to the prosecutor's bench. The two locked eyes for a moment and Edgeworth could have sworn that for a moment he saw a flicker of joy in his mentor's eyes. Edgeworth shook that feeling of suspicion and glanced at the defense's bench and saw Wright and his young assistant standing there.

After only a few mere seconds, the Judge arrived and pounded his gavel signifying the beginning of the trial which for the most part felt like an agonizing crawl to the gallows to Edgeworth. The first person to testify was Gumshoe who quickly gave a summary of the moments leading up to Edgeworth's arrest before departing from the stand. When the court was called into recess, Wright immediately asked him why his fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Edgeworth can barely formulate a response. He didn't shoot Hammond, he's sure of that, so why were his fingerprints on the gun? Soon after, recess ends and court is called back into session.

The next witness brought in is the eyewitness. She swears she saw Edgeworth and the victim in the boat that night and even managed to provide photographic evidence. Edgeworth can already tell that the picture is too blurry to be able to tell who the people on the boat are but the photo is accepted into evidence anyway. Any attempt that Wright makes to question her testimony is swiftly met with an Objection from his mentor and the cross-examination quickly ends with the Judge threatening to hold him in contempt of court if Wright says anything in protest. Von Karma commands him to pass judgement and the Judge calls Edgeworth to the stand.

Edgeworth stands up, prepared to accept his fate, with a couple guards standing besides him ready to lead him to the witness stand. He briefly glances at Wright regretfully before returning to his usual stoic, calm manner. Just as the guards are walking him to the witness stand, a high pitched "Hold it" sounded throughout the courtroom. Edgeworth whipped his head in the direction that the voice came from, who turned out to be one Maya Fey.

"Lotta Hart, your testimony stinks! It's unclear as to whether or not you were looking at the lake or whether you actually saw Mr. Edgeworth! Please, you need to tell us the truth, this is a matter of life or death!" The girl demanded.

"Wha- I promise, I saw what I saw!" Lotta stated, she points to Edgeworth, "I tell ya, I clearly saw that man on that boat that night!"

"Did you really? Did you see him fire the pistol that night?" Maya questions. The eyewitness looked like she was about to respond before she was interrupted by the pounding of the Judge's gavel.

"Judge, the defense has spoken when directed not to." His mentor snapped his fingers before continuing, "Declare him to be in contempt of court!" He demanded.

"Indeed. Mr. Wright, you are being held in contempt of court. The bailiff will escort you out of the courtroom." The judge stated. Wright looked pale, but Ms. Fey shook her head.

"Wait, Your Honor! Nick did nothing wrong, I was the one who spoke out!" Maya admitted.

"So? The only thing that remains is the guilty verdict to be handed down. Isn't that right, Mr. Wright?" Von Karma stated. Phoenix shook his head.

"Not exactly. The witness just revealed that she clearly saw Edgeworth that night on the boat which wasn't in her original testimony, therefore she needs to testify again." He pointed out.

"Hmph, even so, you are currently being held in contempt of court. Whether or not the witness can make a new testimony is out of the question at this point, isn't that right, Your Honor?" Von Karma asked. The judge closed his eyes in deliberation.

"No, I'm afraid I can't agree with you. Mr. Wright has a point, the witness' testimony has changed, therefore she must testify again." The judge stated. Von Karma looked at him flabbergasted.

"But the defense is currently being held in contempt of court, surely you can't mean that-" Von Karma was cut off by Ms. Fey.

"No, I am. If you need to arrest anyone, arrest me!" The girl implored. The judge glanced at her and nodded.

"Very well then. Guards, escort Ms. Fey out of the courtroom." The judge ordered. Directly after, a few guards arrived at the defense bench to arrest Ms. Fey. As Edgeworth was being lead back to the defendant's chair, he couldn't help but glance in the direction of the double doors that she had been lead out of. He wasn't really sure what to think. Just three months ago, he prosecuted this girl and was ready to send her to prison for the rest of her life. And yet, she had pitched a fit to save his own. Edgeworth's lip quivered as he sat back down on the defendant's chair, which he hoped that nobody had saw.

Fortunately for him, the rest of the trial goes better than before and he has at least one more day before becoming a guilty man. He approached Wright after the trial and the two talk for a bit before Edgeworth turns his head with a disgruntled expression and says.

"Wright, there's one last thing I want to ask of you…" He said nervously.

"What is that?" The defense attorney replied, looking curious. Edgeworth gulped and tried to figure out what he truly wanted to express to Wright. Finally, after a moment's deliberation, he spoke.

"I...tell your assistant, Ms. Fey...to watch herself." Edgeworth said, perhaps in a icier tone of voice than he had intended if the disgruntled expression on Wright's face was anything to go by.

"Fine…" Wright said, with a roll of his eyes. As the guards came to retrieve him to take him back to the detention center, he knew he had to repay that girl somehow. Upon arriving back at the detention center, he immediately asked one of the guards to send for Detective Gumshoe post haste. Despite the fact that the detective was currently handling the investigation at the moment, he came almost immediately after the request was made.

"Mr. Edgeworth! I heard that you wanted to see me, sir!" Gumshoe said warmly, puffing out his chest.

"Yes, detective. I wanted to know about the status of Ms. Fey." He stated. The detective looked surprised.

"Well, she's currently in questioning right now. Why do you ask?" Gumshoe asked as he cocked his head in such a manner that he looked more like a confused puppy than a detective. It almost made Edgeworth want to laugh.

"I wanted to discuss the matter of her bail. Tell them that I will pay for it, directly out of my bank account." He demanded. Gumshoe's mouth went agape.

"A-are you sure, sir?" Gumshoe asked, looking flabbergasted.

"Yes, yes I am. And Gumshoe, please don't tell anyone else about this, especially not Ms. Fey." He said.

"Ok...if you say so." Gumshoe didn't look happy but walked out of the detention center. Edgeworth walked over to the visitor's room guard to tell him that he had finished his business. The guard opened the door and a second guard that was positioned behind the door lead him back to his cell.

As he sat on the small and uncomfortable bed, Edgeworth couldn't help but have his mind on the young woman. He didn't know Ms. Fey very well but he felt a strange connection to her.

Maybe it was because the two of them had both lost parents due to _ that incident. _The very same incident where he had murdered his own...

_ No… _ Edgeworth rubbed his temples in frustration. _ Pull yourself together, Edgeworth. _He shook his head and glowered at the floor. The less he thought of _that_, the better.


End file.
